Purdue Continues to Improve

RECORD: After a weekend split, Purdue posts an
11-4 record with a 4-1 mark in the Big Ten. The Boilers are
currently ranked 48th in the Rolex Collegiate Tennis
Rankings.

LAST TIME ON THE COURT: On April 5, 11th-ranked
Notre Dame defeated the Boilermakers 5-2. Derek Myers
defeated Ryan Simme in No. 3 singles 7-6, 6-1, while Jerad
Harbaugh defeated Dan Rothschild 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. High winds
brought the Purdue men's tennis team indoors as Purdue
posted a 5-2 win over Penn State. Purdue won all but two of
its singles matches and two of the three doubles matches to
earn the doubles point. Derek Myers, Jamie Gordon, Greg
Wessenberg and Steve Brizendine captured all singles wins
for the Boilermakers. Myers defeated Mike Griesser 7-5, 2-6,
6-3 at No. 2 singles, while Gordon overpowered Colin Smeeton
7-5, 6-3 in No. 3 singles. Gordon had an excellent day after
working with Jerad Harbaugh to break the 1-1 tie in doubles
to start the day by winning the doubles point for Purdue.
Also winning in singles for Purdue was Greg Wessenberg over
Eric Meditz in the five-spot 6-2, 6-1, while Steve
Brizendine defeated Lee Hect 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 at No. 6 singles.
The team of Cris James and Derek Myers also captured part of
the doubles point by defeating Michael Carter and Colin
Smeeton 8-3 at No. 1 doubles.

MADDEN'S RECORD: Head coach Tim Madden is in his
third season as coach of the Boilermakers. He has posted a
record of 36-28 at Purdue and a 70-49 overall record.
Purdue's 16 wins last season were the fourth most in school
history.

GORDON, JAMES AND MYERS: Gordon, James and Myers
is not the name of a local law firm, but the three hot
sophomores for the Purdue tennis team. In the fall, Jamie
Gordon won the Rolex Regional Singles Draw which
automatically qualified him for the Rolex National
Intercollegiate Indoor Tennis Championships. Gordon posted a
14-6 singles record at tournaments throughout the fall and
winter on his way to being ranked as high as 44th in the
nation and first in Region IV. His victory over Arvid Swan
of Michigan sealed the Boilers' 4-3 win. He presently has a
record of 21-14. The doubles team of Cris James and Derek
Myers is ranked 22nd in the nation and second in the region.
In the fall, the pair posted two major wins over highly
regarded Paul Goldstein and Ryan Wolters. One was in the
finals of the Milwaukee Tennis Classic (Jan. 11), which
propelled the duo into getting an invitation to the Rolex
National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships. They defeated
ninth-ranked Nick Crowell and Paul Martin, 6-4, 6-3 in the
semifinals of the Milwaukee Tennis Classic. James and Myers
have also played well in singles, posting respective 21-13
and 17-11 slates.

DOWN THE STRETCH: Purdue has six matches in the
next two weeks, five of which are against Big Ten foes. This
week, the Boilermakers go to Ball State, Indiana and Ohio
State. They will follow that up by hosting Illinois,
Minnesota and Iowa.

QUOTING HEAD COACH TIM MADDEN: "I am very pleased
with how the team played at Notre Dame. I don't know if the
team believed that they should win against a top 20 program,
but we fought hard and most of the matches were competitive
until the end. I think that next year, we will expect to win
that match and that will pay off against a high caliber
team.

"Penn State took us out of what we wanted to do and made
us play ugly. The guys decided that winning was more
important than looking good."

"We are fine tuning in preparation for the Big Ten
Championships. Confidence is high, and hopefully our play
continues to improve."